2019 League of Ireland First Division

The 2019 League of Ireland First Division season was the 35th season of the League of Ireland First Division. The league began in February 2019 and concluded in October 2019. Shelbourne emerged as champions after beating title rivals Drogheda United 3–1 away from home on 13 September 2019, earning them promotion to the top flight for the first time since 2012.

League of Ireland First Division

Season	2019
Dates	February 2019 – October 2019
Champions	Shelbourne (1st title)
Promoted	Shelbourne
Matches played	135
Goals scored	501 (3.71 per match)
Top goalscorer	Rob Manley (17 goals)
Biggest home win	Shelbourne 7-0 Limerick (21 September 2019)
Biggest away win	Athlone Town 0-5 Bray Wanderers (17 May 2019), Cabinteely 0-5 Drogheda United (19 May 2019)
Total attendance	75,795
Average attendance	561[1]
← 2018 2020 →

Overview

The First Division has 10 teams. Each team plays each other three times for a total of 27 matches in the season.

Teams

Athlone Town

Bray Wanderers

Cobh Ramblers

Drogheda United

Galway United

Limerick

Longford Town

Wexford

Dublin

Dublin teams
Cabinteely
Shelbourne

Locations of the First Division teams

Shelbourne

Cabinteely

Locations of Dublin First Division teams

Stadia and locations

Team	Location	Stadium	Capacity
Athlone Town	Athlone	Athlone Town Stadium	5,000
Bray Wanderers	Bray	Carlisle Grounds	4,000
Cabinteely	Cabinteely	Stradbrook Road	1,620
Cobh Ramblers	Cobh	St. Colman's Park	3,000
Drogheda United	Drogheda	United Park	2,000
Galway United	Galway	Eamonn Deacy Park	5,000
Limerick	Limerick	Markets Field	5,000
Longford Town	Longford	City Calling Stadium	4,960
Shelbourne	Drumcondra	Tolka Park	3,500
Wexford	Crossabeg	Ferrycarrig Park	2,500

Personnel and kits

Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Team	Manager	Captain	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
Athlone Town	Terry Butler	Committee	Nike	Nitro Sports
Bray Wanderers	Gary Cronin	Paul Keegan	Umbro	Matt Britton Carpets
Cabinteely	Pat Devlin	Stephen McGuinness	Uhlsport	Dublin School of Grinds
Cobh Ramblers	Stephen Henderson	Paul Hunt	Joma	Tony & William O'Shea Fuels Rushbrooke
Drogheda United	Tim Clancy	Jake Hyland	CX+ Sport	Scotch Hall Shopping Center
Galway United	Alan Murphy	Stephen Walsh	Puma	Comer Property Management
Limerick	Tommy Barrett	Shaun Kelly	Umbro	Daly Car Sales
Longford Town	Neale Fenn	Dean Zambra	Macron	City Calling
Shelbourne	Ian Morris	Dean Delaney	Umbro	abbeyseals.ie
Wexford	Brian O'Sullivan	Craig McCabe	Bodibro	Premier Tickets

League table

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Shelbourne (C, P)	27	19	3	5	50	19	+31	60	Promotion to League of Ireland Premier Division
2	Drogheda United (Q)	27	16	3	8	59	36	+23	51	Qualification for Promotion play-offs
3	Longford Town (Q)	27	16	3	8	41	23	+18	51
4	Cabinteely (Q)	27	14	8	5	39	28	+11	50
5	Bray Wanderers	27	14	4	9	44	26	+18	46
6	Cobh Ramblers	27	8	7	12	38	51	−13	31
7	Galway United	27	7	5	15	36	42	−6	26
8	Athlone Town	27	4	6	17	30	61	−31	18
9	Wexford	27	2	5	20	22	65	−43	11
10	Limerick	27	10	6	11	33	41	−8	10[a]

Source: SSE Airtricity League, Soccerway
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal difference; 3) Goals scored.^[3]
(C) Champions; (P) Promoted; (Q) Qualified for the phase indicated
Notes:

1. Limerick were deducted 26 points for failure to comply with LOI profitability and sustainability rules.^[2]

Results

Matches 1–18 Teams play each other twice (once at home, once away). Home \ Away ATH BRW CAB COB DRO GAL LIM LON SHE WEX Athlone Town — 0–5 2–2 1–1 3–5 0–4 1–1 0–1 0–2 4–2 Bray Wanderers 0–1 — 1–1 1–0 3–1 2–1 2–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 Cabinteely 3–2 0–3 — 2–2 0–5 1–0 1–2 1–1 1–0 2–0 Cobh Ramblers 0–1 1–0 0–1 — 1–4 2–1 2–3 0–0 2–1 6–1 Drogheda United 4–2 1–0 1–4 4–0 — 3–0 3–2 0–1 0–0 2–1 Galway United 1–1 0–1 0–0 1–2 0–1 — 0–1 2–1 2–3 2–0 Limerick 2–0 1–0 1–0 3–1 0–0 2–1 — 0–0 0–1 1–1 Longford Town 3–1 2–0 0–1 1–0 3–0 2–1 1–0 — 2–0 1–0 Shelbourne 2–1 1–0 2–3 1–0 2–1 3–0 2–0 1–0 — 3–0 Wexford 2–0 2–0 0–2 2–2 1–2 0–4 0–0 1–2 1–2 — First match(es) will be played: 22 February 2019. Source: SSE Airtricity League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Matches 19–27 Teams play each other once. Home \ Away ATH BRW CAB COB DRO GAL LIM LON SHE WEX Athlone Town — — — — 0–2 — 1–5 1–2 3–1 Bray Wanderers 3–0 — — 3–3 — 1–0 — — — Cabinteely 3–1 2–1 — — — 0–1 3–0 2–0 — — Cobh Ramblers 2–1 — 1–1 — — — — 1–0 1–1 Drogheda United — — 0–0 4–2 — — — — 1–3 6–0 Galway United — 2–2 — 7–1 1–3 — — 0–3 — Limerick 1–1 — — 3–4 1–4 — — 3–1 — 4–1 Longford Town — 1–2 — — 2–1 4–0 — — 0–2 — Shelbourne — 0–0 1–1 — — — — — 5–2 Wexford — 1–5 1–2 — — 0–0 — 0–2 — — First match(es) will be played: 05 July 2019. Source: SSE Airtricity League Legend: Blue = home team win; Yellow = draw; Red = away team win.

Season statistics

Top scorers

Rank	Player	Club	Goals
1	Rob Manley	Cabinteely	17
2	Chris Lyons	Drogheda United	13
3	Dean Byrne	Longford Town	12
	Mark Doyle	Drogheda United	12
5	Ciarán Kilduff	Shelbourne	10
	Dylan McGlade	Bray Wanderers	10
	Stephen Meaney	Drogheda United	10
8	Danny Furlong	Wexford	9
9	Jaze Kabia	Shelbourne	8
	Sam Verdon	Longford Town	8

Last updated: 25 September 2019.
Source: SSE Airtricity League of Ireland

Play-offs

3rd vs. 4th-place play-off

Cabinteely v Longford Town

4 October 2019

Cabinteely

0-0

Longford Town

Stradbrook Road

Longford Town v Cabinteely

11 October 2019

Longford Town

1-1 (1-1 agg.)

Cabinteely

Strokestown Road

Cabinteely advances on away goals.

2nd vs. Winner 3rd/4th play-off

Cabinteely v Drogheda United

18 October 2019

Cabinteely

1-1

Drogheda United

Stradbrook Road

Drogheda United v Cabinteely

25 October 2019

Drogheda United

5-1 (6-2 agg.)

Cabinteely

United Park

Promotion/relegation playoff

Drogheda United v Finn Harps

27 October 2019

Drogheda United

1-0

Finn Harps

United Park

Finn Harps v Drogheda United

31 October 2019

Finn Harps

2-0 (2-1 agg.)

Drogheda United

Finn Park

See also

• 2019 League of Ireland Premier Division
• 2019 League of Ireland Cup